Valentine’s Day is just around the corner and in this tutorial, I’m going to show you how to make these charming heart gift tags using upcycled sweater scraps. I hope you’ve been saving these little fabric gems that you have leftover from your other upcycled sweater project.
It goes to show you that even the smallest pieces of felted wool sweaters can be made into some pretty cute things! Add a string of jute or ribbon and you have a tag that is unique and something that you don’t see every day.
I’m going to show you how to easily cut out a small heart freehand, a few ways you can apply it to a card, and show you how to sew several hearts together to make a HEART GARLAND.
Heart Gift Tags Items & Materials Needed
- Paper scissors/paper cutter
- Fabric scissors
- Felted sweater scraps/felt pieces
- Card stock paper
- Glue stick
- Paper punch
- Lightweight jute
- Sewing machine (optional) for heart garland
Instructions for Cutting out Heart Gift Tags
If you want, you can create a small heart pattern with paper. However, I find just eyeballing and cutting is much easier due to the small size of the hearts.
Take a piece of sweater fabric and fold it in half. You’ll only be cutting out the shape of a half heart. Start at the bottom point of the heart. You can make these as wide and as tall as you want. You may want to practice on a folded piece of paper to get the hang of it. It really is quite easy.
Heart Gift Tags Paper Prep
Decide how big you want the tag or card to be and cut out a piece of cardstock to that size. You can make the tag be a folded card or a single-layer tag.
Heart Application
There are a few ways to apply the hearts to the paper. The first one is to just glue it on using a simple glue stick or craft glue.
Another way is to SEW IT ON. Yep, you can use your sewing machine to sew a simple line down the center of the heart. This gives the card a unique look and allows the sides of the heart to flop a bit, which I find to be really cute and different. TIP: to avoid thread nesting on the underside of the fabric, hold your thread for the first couple of stitches and then let go.
If you want to add a ribbon or tie to the heart gift tags, simply use a paper punch.
Fold the ribbon in half and insert the folded end into the hole. Stick the cut ends into the loop and pull to tighten. Tie the heart gift tag to your gift bag. SO CUTE!
How to Make a Heart Garland
Another thing you can do is make a vertical heart garland by sewing several hearts together. You can do this by hand sewing, but using a sewing machine makes it a snap.
Start by pulling out about 5 inches of thread from your machine.
Take a fabric heart and start sewing at the upper notch of the heart down to the point of the heart. DO NOT CUT THE THREADS!
Turn the handwheel of your sewing machine toward you to bring the needle in the uppermost position. Lift up the presser foot and pull the sewn heart back until you have the distance between hearts that you want.
Sew another heart in the same manner and continue with this process until you have a heart garland the length you desire.
These heart garlands are adorable hanging from a doorknob or on the wall.
There you have it; another fun way to use up those small pieces of felted sweaters. These heart gift tags are not only for Valentine’s Day but make cute additions to baby gift wrappings and other gifts.
Be sure to check out my other Valentine crafts and gifts.
DIY Valentine Heart Branches / Love Grows on Trees / Easy Craft Tutorial
DIY Valentine Paint Chip Bookmark / Kid Friendly Craft
Jan Howell
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Jan Howell
Whether it’s a new recipe, a fun craft, or some handy tips for your garden and home, I hope to empower and inspire you with skills that you can use to create joy, improved health, and to do it in a simple way.
